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PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH MYERS | DAILY KENT STATER

The E. Turner Stump Theatre darkened Thursday night for the opening show of the Kent Dance Ensemble. Fifteen dance performance majors and minors took the stage as a part of Kent State’s pre-professional student dance company.

The show, titled “Excel-eration,” featured dances choreographed by Kent faculty and guest artists. Dance professor Kim Karpanty created a solo performance for senior and fourth-year KDE performer Maria Gigliotti. The piece, “Private Dominion,”depicts a young woman searching to identify her adult self.

One of the dances included in the show, “Suspension,” an abstract modern dance, was originally choreographed in 1943 by dance pioneer May O’Donnell. The dance was reconstructed by faculty member Barbara Verlezza, who kept the costumes, lighting and set true to the original.